


fins to the left, fins to the right

by numberfifteenjersey (battercoveredbakery)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Kiss cam, Meet-Cute, NHL Player Chris "Chowder" Chow, SJ Sharkie Chowder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 16:09:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17749121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/battercoveredbakery/pseuds/numberfifteenjersey
Summary: Caitlin is having a pretty horrific hockey game date. Things only seem to be worsening when they show up on the Sharks Kiss Cam.





	fins to the left, fins to the right

**Author's Note:**

  * For [loveyoutoobits (lostflares)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostflares/gifts).



> hello! i was given the option by [gabrielle](http://loveyoutoobits.tumblr.com/) to write either zimbits or charmer for this, with an optional historical au. i sadly had to forgo the historical au part for sake of inspiration (but I still might write one later, because while writing this fic i found the perfect song basis for one, haha), but i did see [this post](http://loveyoutoobits.tumblr.com/post/171219411427/caitlnfarmer-au-where-chowder-and-farmer-ended-up) on her blog. it's a bit of a twist on that, of course, a la [benny the bull](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSSBXPda50w), but hopefully she still enjoys it!
> 
> title taken from jimmy buffett's fins

Caitlin was on the worst date she had ever been on in her life. Her date, a lacrosse player she first met at college back in Massachusetts, invited her to a Sharks game, only to be engrossed in his phone nearly the entire time. Sure, she reasoned that things come up and you just can't ignore it, but he had been chattering away into his phone literally the entire time. Would you not at least apologize to your date for something like that, and at the most just leave and let your date enjoy the game on their own for free and for their time?

He had tried, she supposed. He invited her to the game in the first place, although she wasn't quite sure he remembered that she liked the Sharks; he was, after all, decked out in full Aces merch and memorabilia. Before the game, he bought them some nachos with salsa and queso to share and then both of them their own sodas; although, when she offhandedly wondered if they had ginger ale, he shrugged her off and bought her a Sprite instead. He had done it under the reasoning that it was the same as, or at least just as good as, ginger ale. Which, was absolutely wrong, but she was not about to get in a fight over carbonated drinks in the concession line when plenty of others were in line and wanted to get food as well.

Minus the Aces fan bit, and the thing about Sprite vs Ginger Ale, and the constant ignoring her for his phone, her date had been running pretty well. (Obviously, there wasn't much else for her to go off of.) Things really soured when the Kiss Cam rolled around, though.

After two older couples, Caitlin and Chad happened to be the third couple to appear on the Sharks Kiss Cam. Catching a view of herself and her date on the big screen, Cait of course eagerly tried to get Chad's attention.

“Chad! Chad, look!” Swatting his arm a few times playfully, Caitlin grinned in excitement as she hoped for her date to notice their big screen debut. He easily brushed her off by giving her that ‘one-second’ hand signal, so she herself easily brushed that off. He'd set his phone down soon enough, they’d have their once-in-a-lifetime moment on the Kiss Cam, and everything about the date would be a-okay.

The Sharks crowd camera team passed through three more couples before Caitlin and Chad made a reappearance. Cait obviously tried again to get his attention, still wearing that eager and optimistic smile that she had had the first time around.

“Chad, it'll take just one second! Just look up!”

“Hold on,” Chad scolded her lightly through gritted teeth, gesturing to her and then his phone with that ‘one-second’ sign again before returning to his incessant chattering.

Fed up but not wanting to make a huge scene, she looked away and laughed it off. What was this date to him, a joke? An excuse to jabber incessantly beside her, as an amazing game between Las Vegas and San Jose went down below unbeknownst to him? What a prick, an absolute douche canoe, the biggest bag of dicks.

Five more couples got their chance. Then the embarrassing hockey date-gone-awry popped up once more. But this time around, Caitlin was not happy about her date's oblivion to their appearance and was definitely unafraid to show the fact.

“Chad,” Caitlin repeated once more irritably, roughly jostling the jock to try and get his attention one last time for the Kiss Cam.

“What?!” He immediately and finally snapped, head moving away from his smartphone more than two inches for the first time in the entire game. “Good grief, Katy. It's a damn important call, what could be so great or fantastic that you have to bother me three times!?”

Cait held her tongue on both explaining how strangely beautiful hockey could be and correcting him on her name. She could somehow sense the fact he even spelled it with a ‘K’ and a ‘y’ over a ‘C’ and an ‘ie’, which quite honestly ticked her off even more. This date had been absolutely horrendous, and she really wanted to cry, but she resisted. She was absolutely not, under zero circumstances, crying on the Kiss Cam. Instead, she just angrily huffed and fell back into her seat, trying hard not to crush the stupid Sprite that Chad thought would be the same as, or at least just as good as, ginger ale in her hand.

All of a sudden, though, SJ Sharkie stood beside their seats, and he quickly leaned over Cait in order to promptly smack Chad over the head. He then gently pulled Cait up from her seat, and sort of gestured toward her Sprite in order to take it from her to pour it over Chad's head. She shook her head and pushed his gloved hand away, though, and then completely just upended the soda over his head before throwing the cup down to the ground.

Since his soda plan had fallen through, Sharkie instead took the remaining nachos with queso and salsa and threw them into Chad's face with just as much as fire and force in it as Caitlin had had with her Sprite. Then, wanting to get the poor girl out of the situation as much as she did herself, Sharkie picked up a one singular Caitlin Farmer in a bridal-style carry and booked it up the stairs. Chad was thus left in the dust, still on screen for a moment, to assess damage to both his pride and his reputation.

Sharkie didn't stop running with Cait in his arms until they were far enough from the scene of the crime to be safe, to which then he finally set the poor bewildered Sharks fan down.

“Are you okay?” The costumer finally spoke, huffing and puffing to himself slightly in overexertion.

“Yeah, I'm okay.” Caitlin smiled. “Thanks for getting me out of there, that dude's honestly a huge prick. I have no clue why I let him take me on a date.”

“More like he took his phone on a date and you just third-wheeled. Plus, it's fine! I'm glad to have been your savior from an Aces’ fan.” Sharkie faux shuddered beneath the costume, clearly still sticking with the Las Vegas hating that the players carried.

“Well then, can I see my savior's face? Gotta be able to put a face to the shark for my friends." Caitlin smirked, half amused by just talking to the wide-mouthed shark head of SJ Sharkie.

"Nuh-uh," Sharkie shook his head, the mouth slightly bopping up and down with the movement, "Not while the game's still on and I'm on SAP Arena grounds."

“Oh, gotcha.” Caitlin hummed in understanding, despite a vague feeling of disappointment eating at her. "His name's Chad. He played lacrosse for my college," She explains without Sharkie even asking her, somehow sensing his curiosity even beneath the Sharkie exterior, "I played volleyball. Sports hookup, y'know?"

Sharkie barked out in laughter, immediately reminded of some two very close friends of his. "Yeah, I definitely know." He grinned beneath the mascot head even though Cait couldn’t see it. "Hey, I have to go, but... can I give you my number? Maybe I can rescue you from more bad dates some other day."

"Uh, yeah, sure.” Now it was Cait's turn to laugh. “Hey, since you're giving me your number, can I get your name? Feels weird just calling you, y'know. Sharkie.”

"Uh… just put me in as Shark Chowder. I can explain it later.”

**Author's Note:**

> a big shout out to [the haus](http://swampshey.co.vu/post/170318015108/ive-been-wanting-to-be-a-part-of-an-omgcp-discord) for letting me come up with the SJ Sharkie Chowder AU, as well as giving me future fic inspiration! hopefully this won't be the only time you see me write chowder as sharkie ;)


End file.
